Followers

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

"Glad All Over" by The Dave Clark Five

It was today in 1964 that The Dave Clark Five made their American television debut. It was on The Ed Sullivan Show and they performed their song "Glad All Over". This was significant as The Dave Clark Five were the second British band to appear on the show, this only two weeks after The Beatles had appeared for a third time. Just as they had been in the United Kingdom, The Dave Clark Five were initially regarded as serious rivals to The Beatles in the United States. This was not without good reason. While The Dave Clark Five would have only one number one single in the United States ("Over and Over" in December 1965), they would have a string of hits beginning with "Glad All Over". Ultimately from 1964 to 1967 The Dave Clark Five would have eight top ten hits in the U.S. and many other singles that reached the top twenty. Strangely enough, they tended to be more popular in the U.S. than in their native UK for much of their career.

Sadly The Dave Clark Five's last major hit in the U.S. would be "You Got What It Takes", released in April 1967. By that time the proto-power pop and outright power pop of the British Invasion bands were giving way to psychedelia. While many British bands, among them The Beatles, adapted to the change in musical styles, The Dave Clark Five did not. The Dave Clark Five would have a few more hits in the United Kingdom and broke up in 1970.

The Dave Clark Five's historic performance of "Glad All Over" on The Ed Sullivan Show does not appear to be available online. Here then is another video of the first Dave Clark Five song most Americans on March 8 1964 ever heard.